False Wings
by Butterfly Crown
Summary: I got a request for a story where Cyborg gets a girlfriend. This is what happened. Now for cross-dressing, secret identities, bad pick up lines, failed more-than-just-friends clues, and general poking fun at Cyborg's lack of thought. ENJOY!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Hey, dudes. Are you sure that the race is today?" Beast Boy stared at the outside world of overcast skies, high winds, and low temperatures usually signaling that a race was to be canceled or rescheduled more than anything else. Cyborg stepped over to the green shapeshifter. Everyone was glum. If the late summer air race became canceled because of bad weather, then there would be no chance to give out the awards for this year.

"Relax BB. We have a weather manipulator coming from Greece," Cyborg said cheerfully typing at alarming speeds. If Cyborg hadn't made the machines in the tower himself, most of them would be broken from close to abusive overuse. Beast Boy looked over his shoulder to see text appearing and disappearing on the screen as if Cyborg was having a word war with himself. Starfire wandered in from who knows where in the tower. Absent mindlessly floating upside down she looked over Cyborg's shoulder and frowned.

"Cyborg, what is this thing that you are doing?" Starfire said, her hair obstructing the view of the screen of the chat room.

"Star, do you have a bet going with someone to stay upside down?" Cyborg said jokingly. She righted herself, trying to not defy the Earth's gravitational pull, and put herself on the ground. She looked again at the screen while Raven came out from the floor of the roof to join the judges panel, pulling the table and chairs through with her. The two girls began setting up while Beast Boy read aloud from the screen in a comedic voice. Robin appeared from the elevator shaft and walked over as this was happening.

Data_Head19: Hi, where are you? XD  
Lifter11: On the train. Weather looks bad on your end though ,_,  
Data_Head19: Yeah, we have a weather manipulator coming though so the race should be fine.  
Lifter11: Great! Who knows, maybe you'll see me. *winks*  
Data_Head19: Probably won't knowing my luck. I'll miss your train and then lose you in the city. XD  
Lifter11: Don't jinx it! :P

"To whom are you talking about Jinx with?" said Starfire curiously floating again.

"No Starfire, jinxing the outcome of something, not Jinx." said Robin from the other side of Cyborg's shoulder scanning the page.

"Since when did my messages become public property?" Cyborg said, closing the computer after typing a quick message.

"Since that one Control Freak incident, where he took all of our most embarrassing moments in the tower and put them on _every computer in America,_" Beast Boy cheekily replied.

"Race is starting soon. Here's the weather manipulator." Raven said to quickly trying to avoid a scene.

The group looked to the far the docks, where there was a indistinct girl in a Grecian tunic. With some sort of movement, the clouds dispersed, the wind blew down to a swift breeze, and the temperature rose to the more comfortable 75 degrees. She left the docks and people began to swarm the area to launch. Civilians, heroes, humans, metahumans, mutants all crowded around for the best starting area. The Titans East were doing rescues for anyone who fell in the water. Some fan girls took it so far as to purposefully fall in. Many were disappointed.

"Whats that shrimp doing in the competition?!" Cyborg stood up angrily, pointing toward the left side of the docks. There at the end was Gizmo with a feebly disguised Hive 5 behind him. The team switched positions to confront the enemy.

"The competition's open to anyone, pit sniffers!" Gizmo called out jeeringly.

"Rob! That can't be true: he's a villain!" Cyborg was damn near tears by this point.

"He's twisting the rules to his agenda. Damn! We can't mess with any of the contestants after this point." Rob shot a death glare at Gizmo.

The smug look on Gizmo's face as he turned to the Hive 5 showed that, as usual, there was an ulterior motive in mind. Jinx, in a strawberry wig, turned to him. "Remember the plan. You either win the competition and steal the top prizes, or you steal the tech of the person who beat you."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna to win though. With all this puppy has in it, there's no way I can lose." Gizmo's arrogance triggered the next event.

A slip of paper carried on the wind hit Gizmo on the face.

**Lets see who is better: you or me. -#17**

"You s_not!_ I'll just take your ride and-" he dropped the paper as the lineup signal rang out.

"Hey, shut it. We've got work to do," Jinx said scornfully, hexing the paper.

From behind a small pillar, #17 smiled underneath their helmet. Numbers were being called out: 14, 15, 16 (_Gizmo_), 17 (Challenger), 18,19,20. A person in a white suit with some sort of back pack on stepped up to the starting line. The Gizmo next to them looked... tiny. Even the announcer let out a snicker; because it was Cyborg, everyone had seen it coming.

"Hey, you. In the white. You sent me that note." Gizmo spat the words out like rotten sushi.

There was no reaction from the figure in white, a sheet hung over part of their hang glider. Just standing there waiting for the shot, underneath the helmet that person's eyes were half closed in concentration. Gizmo was like an enraged ape trying to get out of its small cage at the taller figure. The count down had begun though, and he couldn't blow the start. That would look bad, but he would kill that helmeted snot when he had the chance.

"Ready, set," the hornpipe like thing that Starfire was about to blow was replaced with a tin whistle,"Go!" Raven shouted at the top of her lungs. "Bweet!" Starfire's whistle called out across the water to the contestants. A white hang-glider powered by rockets was the first that took of at the beginning of the 'g' sound. The contestants took off nearly at the same time in a wild rush of displaced air. The competition, however, was not just about the speed of take off but the maneuverability of the aerial contestants.

Bags of compressed air were floating at various heights meant to buffet the aerialists without actually hurting them severely. The shock would still render people dizzy for a few seconds, making it less likely to win the race. Dirty moves were employed by Gizmo in the first few seconds of the whistle, but he could not be disqualified because he used no weapons.

"He's cheating! Urgh-Let me go, Robin!" There was a strangle hold on Cyborg at the judges' booth."You can't do anything about dirty tactics!" Robin hissed.

Gizmo, however ahead he may have gotten, was still behind the stranger in white. Frustrated, he abandoned his efforts of sabotaging the other contestants in favor of getting even with #17. He zoomed just ahead of #17 forcing the other racer to take a different route, one not so forgiving to hang gliders or other large-area flying device. The change of gadgets took a total of three seconds with the hang-glider folding into the backpack as something like bug wings came from the sides. The quick maneuverability of the contestant was on par with Gizmo, enraging the midget even more.

Many contestants at this point were either out of the race or so far behind that the idea of winning was just ludicrous. However, the idea that someone might beat Gizmo was enough for the soaking-wet contestants that #17 had their support. With just 27 yards to go, a large gust of wind was coming up from behind like a wave that was beginning to swamp the contestants in the back, upsetting the air bags and contestants in its wake.

_My lucky day, I guess. Getting to show off so much might just go to my head though... Who cares, no one will know it's me._

The wings folded together compressing themselves as the suit inflated until it resembled a giant cream puff. The timing was just right. While Gizmo was destabilized, the wind took # 17 like a feather to the finish line winning first place. The slight turning of the head to face behind with Gizmo throwing a fit mid-air, you could imagine a smirk underneath that helmet almost too well. Cyborg wasn't for one wasn't concealing his amusement.

The victor didn't stay long after collecting the reward money and medal. Quickly leaving, not even pausing to say thank-you to the hosts of the tournament take out off. Somehow managing to fade into the clouds until the crowd gave up trying to sight them.

* * *

At the lost and found desk, a short coppery-haired girl, locks in a neat bun, came up with a look of business about her. Armed with a red backpack and a dark blue duffle bag on each shoulder she peered at the police officer for a few seconds before asking if they could let out an announcement to Cy that Aria was here. Startled, the woman looked up to meet gray eyes that had a determined glint to them.

With a sigh the police woman wondered when teenagers got it into their heads to intimidate there elders like that? "Would Cy please report to the lost and found, a girl named Aria is here looking for you." If anyone found it unusual or odd that a mostly prosthetic covered person at almost 6 feet tall high-fived an almost 5'2" 16 year-old girl, they said nothing. To Cyborg's credit, he at least introduced his much smaller friend, or at least tried to. The girl rushed to say sorry, her laptop and phone had died. At the speed she was going, she managing to garble the message faster than Kid Flash ever could.

With a big grin, she dashed head-long into a short introduction, "Hi! I'm Aria Leon, Ria for short. Do me a favor and don't call me that. **I know Cy from a chat room about-" when she noticed their blank looks.** With her stomach growling in time with Starfire's, the idea of pizza sounded like a good idea. The other four members of the team quickly found out that the varying interests of them all seemed to have some sort of common ground with Aria. It was near four o' clock when the first pizza was ordered, and closer to seven when the fifth was finished by the combination of Aria, Cyborg and Beast Boy.

"So how long are you saying?" asked Robin, calmly interested.

"For about a week. I'm booked for a lot of competitions after this. Right now though, I want to enjoy Jump City! Without getting jumped though. That would suck," she teased the Titans.

"Then we must hurry to make sure you have my homeland's specialty before you go!" Starfire's joy dimmed as a cramp ran through her gut, her body's protest from eating so much.

Their new friend smiled saying that she had better check into her hotel. Once they left her company, her cheerful demeanor left her in place of a more studious, watchful one that followed her to the hotel. She climbed up the fire escape to the roof of the building, the city opening up before her in the dying light. She pulled out of her duffle gray sweater wrapped around a white helmet with clothes inside. It was quickly put on over her regular clothes inflated to look like a teen aged boys figure. The batteries in the helmet and suit around three quarters full even so the perk was too hard to resist.

"I love night vision," Aerial Ace thought. The name was uncovered from the top of her hang glider now that the competition was over. She looked out on the town that needed its own superhero team. "They need a break," she thought with a smile.

*Hope you liked it! I was a bit nervous about the theme, I've never done a romance. Please review to let me know if I'm doing this right.*


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Persistent aren't they?" murmured Aerial Ace to herself. Another trash can became covered in the sticky substance that was Fang and Kitten's trademark. The suit wouldn't work well against paralysis or- "How on Earth did she get a Plasma Whip? This one's low-grade but it's still expensive." Constant muttering couldn't be heard over the hum of the hang glider's rockets. It also couldn't insult anyone to say that she was bored of second rate villains.

An opening would happen given time, one where they weren't covering each others backs and just focusing on destroying her. She dove between the couple and then zoomed out of the way to let them deal with it. Kitten became wrapped up in Fang's web while Fang was scorched by her Plasma Whip. The undignified screams alerted nearby police officers allowing Aerial Ace to quickly finish the job on Fang. She released the knife hidden up her sleeve, hitting Fang with its handle to knock him out.

A note was left at the scene for the police and Titans.

**You saw ****me in the race. Just helping out.-Aerial Ace.**

The Titans called a meeting in order to discuss the message and what its implications were. Starfire hurried downstairs with Silky in her arms. Cyborg abandoned his gaming match with Beast Boy, but not before winning. The two of them were arguing back and forth by the time Raven had reluctantly closed her book and joined them in the living room. On the screen in the living room, half of it was taken up by a picture of the said note and on the other half a video chat with Kitten and Fang in jail.

Starfire had to be restrained for a moment, leaving Kitten screaming silently on the screen as the situation was explained. The mute button was turned off leaving Kitten's rage to be heard by everyone in the room. "-That crazy Hero just came out of no where! Zoomed in after Fang and I had gone through the jewelry store!"

"It wasn't a false alert then," Raven mused to herself.

"Will you shut up?! I got attacked by that freaking hang-gliding F-" Fang's arachnid face filled the screen.

"They had a hang-glider," Cyborg confirmed.

"She hit Fang with a knife, I saw!" Kitten screeched.

"He is not cut. I see that his burns are worse than that. Was it not _you_ who did that?" Starfire said sharply, her intense dislike of Kitten getting the better of her.

"I bet she hit him with the handle," Beast Boy guessed, apparently correct by the exclamations made by the couple on screen.

"Thanks for your help," Robin said. "I-" whatever Fang was about to say was cut off when Beast Boy turned off the screen. He turned to the team. "Dudes, have we ever heard something that loud, that wasn't supposed to kill us?"

"I'd say she was doing a good job, if that was her motive," Cyborg joked.

"Even so, I'm not so sure that #17's motives where pure," Robin stated. Everyone had guessed that it was #17 in the race. Now known as Aerial Ace, who had put Fang and Kitten in jail.

"I can't say I'm sorry it wasn't us that put them there," Cyborg commented. Help unexpected wasn't help unwanted in a city this big. The rest of the team's feelings were mixed. Robin was suspicious because Aerial Ace hadn't announced who they were at the competition. Starfire was excited but puzzled at this new-found help. Raven was suspicious but lazy; if someone wasn't trying to break laws, they were allowed. Beast Boy was confused flat out; who just comes and starts working for nothing?

The team was about to disperse when a cough came from the doorway. Aria grinned when they jumped, reassuring them about her identity. Her love of surprises had come up in conversation more than once. It took Cyborg about fifteen seconds to look at the clock. The team had practically begged her to come over yesterday and then left her at the door. A quick survey of faces revealed that no one had remembered about it.

"I heard what sounded like an interrogation by a freaked out drama queen and decided to make sure you were the ones giving it," her gray eyes dancing mischievously. The opportunity to tease them was too good to pass up. "I realized that ringing the door bell might not be heard. I hope you don't mind me letting myself in?" Aria continued. The look she gave said more, "Come on you bozos, defend yourselves."

"Well then do you know anything about Aerial Ace?" Cyborg asked catching on quickly.

"Yeah, they have the right idea living in the town they protect, must save a lot of gas money." retorted Aria.

This eased the tension in the group. Starfire had the brilliant idea that she, Aria, and Raven could all go to the mall for some shopping. Robin said no, Aria said yes, Raven said be quiet. After much debate, the answer presented itself: the girls would go shopping, end of story. The girls were all set to leave until the glitch appeared: Aria couldn't fly and Cyborg was to busy to drive.

"We will carry you there on a swing," Starfire announced, excited about trying what she had seen in a movie.

"Starfire, you realize that Aria could fall," Raven spoke, carefully testing the young alien's comprehension levels.

"We will catch you if you fall," Starfire promised seriously, looking Aria in the eyes to make sure she understood.

"Don't worry. I trust you guys, although, maybe I could just take the boat I rented to get here?" Aria grinning at their expressions as she pointed outside the window to a small boat. "In fact, why don't we all take the boat?" Aria said gently, "We need to hurry though, shops close at 9 and it's already 4."

While Cyborg went to exercise, Beast Boy looked over at the laptop he had been using. With a wild grin he called, "Robin, check this out!" Robin jumped over the couch to look disapprovingly at Beast Boy on Cyborg's account. "We were kidding yesterday about Cyborg's privacy rights being nonexistent." Robin cautioned.

"Come on, I know you want to know how Aria found out about Cyborg being Cyborg," Beast Boy insisted. Finding the earliest date that Cyborg had found the chat room, he scrolled down until the username Lifter11 popped up. Robin sighed, whether Aria was a friend or not, he still wanted to know why Cyborg had told so much to a complete stranger. They found a private message streak from around February of that year.

Lifter11: Hey do u go by Cy?  
Data_Head19: And how do u know that?!  
Lifter11: U said that your lucky number's 3 & WAY before that you confessed to owning a flip phone at one point. (seriously, out-dated much?)  
Data_Head19: *Sigh* Yeah my nickname's Cy.  
Lifter11: Short for Cyborg?  
Data_Head19: How'd you?  
Lifter11: Called IT! That's why you knew so much about sound wave tech!  
Data_Head19: Please don't tell anyone.  
Lifter11: Hey no sweat! I just made a few educated guesses. I'll tell u my name even.  
Data_Head19: Really?  
Lifter11: Yeah, I'm Aria Leon.  
Data_Head19: YOU'RE A GIRL!?  
Lifter11: Sexist! Go Google me if you think I can't be here!

"I suppose you guys have a really good reason for going through my stuff." Robin and Beast Boy jumped guiltily. Cyborg was standing over them glaring. Beast Boy and Robin confessed quickly just to be over and done with it. They sat down on the couch to talk things over. By the time it was seven o' clock Beast Boy sported two large bumps on the head, but at least Cyborg had calmed down.

* * *

"Remind me why I agreed to come here again?" Aria asked. All around the three teens were various dying materials and shampoos jam-packed together slap-dash, in the mall's new beauty shop. Starfire was pointing excitedly at a magazine add, '_We will personally redo your hair if you don't like it-**for free**_**.**' The various shopping bags littered the floor around them with names of various themed stores on them from T_oo_ C_ute _to **Black Addict**.

"Starfire, I am not changing my hair," Aria said firmly.

"Why do you not wish to change your hair? Is it not fun to you?" Starfire urged.

"Starfire. Not everyone likes to change the way they look." Raven said, standing up for Aria.

"It's just a habit that I don't want to change. It helps keep my hair out of machines. There's memories too," Aria protested.

After a few more witty remarks were exchanged Starfire gave up trying to get Aria's hair cut. They picked up their bags with a new intent to do something fun. Laughing after a bout of karaoke they walked down the street trying to find the nonexistent taxi in the city. The conversation eventually turned to why easy-going Aria didn't cut her hair. The girl turned somewhat pale and stood frozen for a few seconds before answering haltingly.

"Well. You see," Aria sighed before trying again, "My mom was always pushing me to get my hair cut and so I guess this is one last rebellion."

"What happened?" Raven asked quietly, recognizing the use of past tense.

"She died. So did my dad," their new friend said haltingly, "Last year, October 17. Its all I have left." It made Raven and Starfire feel guilty about the line of questioning.

"After all," she croaked, "my aunt and uncle are taking the house, the cars, the furniture, everything."

"How can this be?! Are they not **your** furniture, house and cars?! Is this the way things are done on Earth?!" Starfire cried out in earnest. Nearly shaking the poor girl's head off with her superhuman strength.

"They managed to produce a better will than mine," Aria choked out.

"They forged it," Raven bluntly interjected.

"Yeah, but I can't do anything about it. I'm just a competition mechanic," Aria turned back to her friends cheerfully, "Besides, I don't have a curfew anymore!" They pretended not to see the hastily wiped away tears that were now on her sleeve. Her smile became genuine once they actually found the supposedly non-existent taxi cab. For once the traffic wasn't as horrendous as usual and they made it to the harbor without incident. They found the boat that Aria had rented 'The Songstress' marooned at the far end of the docks.

Dropping their stuff on deck another change of topic caused Raven to go below decks muttering about how stupid it all was. Starfire was questioning Aria relentlessly on what the magazines of fashion meant by this or that. Aria fended her off saying that if she asked one more question then she wouldn't tell Starfire how she figured out Cyborg's identity. Starfire immediately went quiet, her attention rapt on Aria with a piercing gaze.

"I guessed after looking at some of the posts he did. Anyone could have done it. I just did it first," she said to her friend's bewilderment.

"Yes, but can you not determine his given na-" Starfire was silenced by Raven.

Raven distracted the smaller red head with a dark poetry book that she found that the two began discussing intently. The titan girls came off the boat and said good night to their younger friend. It was only when they were inside the tower that the telepath was kind enough to let Starfire out of the duct tape that had been put on her.

"If she doesn't know his name, then she doesn't need to know. She's smart enough to figure it out Starfire. It isn't a crazy idea you can throw out there with her, she has the ability to do it," Raven stated simply.

* * *

*Well I managed to make this story sad. Why do I do these things to you and myself?! Ugh! I could kick myself for writing in so many depressing back stories! At least it explains why she isn't in school right now. If only that.*


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Cyborg stared at Beast Boy and Starfire for five minutes, trying to comprehend what they were saying, "You think that we should throw Aria a party," he finally managed to say. "Yes! She must leave Sunday, so we do not have much time! I am debating whether or not to even attempt Wargulberry Stew as part of the feast." Starfire's over the top enthusiasm was contagious. Cyborg felt himself getting excited, but then stopped himself.

"Dude, why aren't you excited? You're the one who introduced her to all of us. Where's the Cyborg I know?" Beast Boy asked. Cyborg had a very good reason to not throw a party for Aria: she had invited him to one yesterday.

The conversation at 7am

Lifter11: Hey Data, u there?  
Data_head19: Yeah, what's up Lifter? You've been dodging me all day man.  
Lifter11: Well I know you don't like shopping if the newest gaming system isn't involved. I want to make it up to you. After all, you're the reason that I'm staying in this city.  
Data_head19: I'm listening. :D  
Lifter11: Don't get a big head or anything, I saw a flyer about a party on the beach. Free admission, lots of food, Thursday. You game?  
Data_head19: I'm game.  
Lifter11: Good.  
Data_head19: Do I have to wear civilian clothes?  
Lifter11: If you want, I'm not stopping you. Oh, and don't try to imagine me in a swimsuit. :P  
Data_head19: Sure. Google-ing it right now.  
Lifter11: PERVERT ALERT!

"Cyborg, Hel-looo. Party Thursday, party Saturday, easy for the end of summer celebration," Beast Boy was saying.

"Go back a bit BB, you said party on Thursday?" Cyborg asked for clarification with a sinking feeling.

"Yes! Aria invited all of us to go nearly at 10:00 last night," Starfire squealed. Stopping, she turned to Cyborg, confusion written on her face, "Did you not get invited Cyborg, to this party Aria found on the beach?" Starfire had a worried look on her face. Beast Boy realized by this point that Aria must have invited Cyborg earlier and grinned. "So how earlier did she invite you? Eh?" he said with his over the top grin.

"Who said she invited me?" Cyborg calmly began to fix a broken toaster.

"I say she invited you first and we were an afterthought," Beast Boy bet on a whim.

"What ever you say BB," Cyborg said casually.

"I was totally right!" Beast Boy strutted out of the room with a boosted ego.

Cyborg sat down to look at which parts need the most care. Starfire floated anxiously above him. After giving the whole thing a once over he promptly trashed it. Try as he may, Beast Boy still couldn't work tofu bacon in the toaster without the toaster going boom. Starfire touched down to look at Cyborg worriedly. "Cyborg, are you sad that Aria invited the rest of us," Starfire never learned how to say things subtly.

"Nah, its not that. I just... haven't been able to hang out with her much. I wonder if she's avoiding me. I can't think of what would make her annoyed with me," Cyborg confessed.

"No! She would not have done that! She came to the tower and then Raven and I borrowed her to go shopping. Also the team tagged along when you went to greet her on Monday! It would have been unusual for the two of you to go alone somewhere so she invited us today. She talks to us because she knows we are your friends, Cyborg, and she is curious. I am sure this is the way she thinks from spending Tuesday with her," Starfire said in a righteous fury.

Cyborg smiled wearily, "I'm glad that you can tell that Star, but do you mind not telling the others?"

Starfire stared at him confused, "Why should I not? Do you not wish to hang out with Aria as well Cyborg? Have we not been standing in the way of that."

Cyborg shook his head. "Not at all. I guess I don't know Aria as well as I thought."

* * *

Aria met them on the beach a half hour before the band was completely set up. The Titans were wearing either a variation on their costumes or a swim suit with their trademarks added. She stifled a laugh at Raven's cape blowing in the wind over a black swim suit that didn't look to different from her costume except for it being sleeveless. Beast Boy was just wearing some swim trunks, and Robin did the same with his customary mask still on. Starfire was in a rather exposing purple swim suit that caught a lot of eyes. Cyborg was just being Cyborg.

Aria laughed at the difference between them and the crowd that was beginning to gather around the booths. "Well party on the beach doesn't always translate to swimming but I guess you guys took it literally," she smirked, the only one wearing casual clothes among the group: just a pair of shorts and a light blue shirt with straps. Night fell and the DJ booth put a record on and the booths came alive with lights and people, a stream of lanterns went all the way to the edge of the sea foam marking the high tide.

The night was wild and carefree, and it was about to get crazy. Behind the booths for cotton candy and jewelry the Hive Five waited. Jinx looked at Gizmo annoyed, it was his idea to terrorize the civilians the North Beach Festival. Lots of booths to knock over, children to start screaming, food, jewelry and assorted objects to steal. It sounded perfect at the time, however now that the Titans were here the idea was up for last minute debate. It was up to her whether or not they should continue or abandon the idea. She looked around, not many of the items were very pricey, the Titans were here, and- she stared as a girl with coppery red hair sitting next to Cyborg at a ice cream counter.

"That's it," she decided. "So, he has a little girlfriend now. One that looks a little like me, only 'normal', not pink hair or eyes, not a villain. I turned out to be a stupid type cast, huh? Time to say bye-bye to that red head of his. He'll regret tonight," she thought viciously. Her eyes turned a bright pink, she was itching to fight now, "Who cares about the Titans?" she thought. "We're staying here," she said to the Hive Five. "Lets make this party a little more interesting, hmm?" She had the wicked look to her that had gotten her the position of leader, gotten her through the Hive Academy, and would get her through tonight.

The Hive Five members looked at each other, then shrugged. If Jinx said that they were staying, then they were staying. It was time for some fun.

* * *

"Cy, you've got to try this ice cream," Aria said dragging the 19 year old across the street from the pasta vendor that they had recently frequented. Cyborg messily slurped up the pasta and paid the man before Aria could drag him off. Aria was already sitting down at the counter before she remembered the pasta vendor. She attempted to get up but Cyborg grabbed her arm to make her stay.

"I paid the bill," he said in an attempt to calm the girl down. He failed spectacularly.

"But Cy, I'm the one who ate the most. I can't have you paying for my meals while I'm here! It wouldn't be right," she spoke frantically, trying to wiggle out of his grip.

"Come on, you didn't let me pay for pizza, and you can't have that much cash left after shopping with Starfire and Raven,"

"I have plenty of money left," she said offended, "it was Starfire and Raven who really went to town." She noted the look the vendor was giving them and sat down with a sigh. "Well I **was** going to tell you about the vanilla, peach, chocolate, fudge, and caramel ice cream the serve here with big pouring of chocolate syrup down the middle." She sighed looking at the vendor, "He'll clean you out you know, if you let him buy here that is."

"I'll let him, can't be bad for publicity after all, flame bird," said the Italian stroking his goatee with gusto.

"Lorenzo!" cried out the red head enthusiastically.

"You know each other?" Cyborg asked.

"Yes. How have you been, my little _fiamma uccello_? Still sighing over that one fellow like you used to in the shop?" The Italian began to ignore Cyborg in favor of questioning Aria while doling out ice cream to another customer.

"Lorenzo!" she said angrily.

"Don't worry," he said to Cyborg, "it was only a question between old friends," to Aria he said, "I know what your going to ask, still only rumors on what happened exactly. His father took him out of school saying something about an accident. His mother died in it too, no one really knows how. Handsome boy I must admit. Don't know why he should do some thing stupid that would make him unable to come to school. Football captain and star, I must admit a lot of ladies had their eye on him. He did show a chivalrous side though, maybe that's what you remember most. Right, my little _soura_? You should talk with Giuseppe, he'll make you forget about that man you knew."

He heard something and turned around to yell at a younger man, presumably his brother about some piece of machinery. There was an awkward silence between the two friends with the mention of this unknown man that Aria had apparently had feelings for. The fact she had lived here at one point was painfully obvious now, and that it had not come up in conversation made the situation even worse. They watched as Lorenzo cuffed his little brother Giuseppe over the head and sent him back to work with harsh words in Italian.

"I used to live around here," she said finally breaking the silence before their ice cream server could come back with small talk. "Don't ask who he was, it was rude of Lorenzo to bring it up." She looked up, Cyborg meet her with a face that deserved answers. Sighing she continued, "Well, better if it's me who tells you and you promise not to continue this."

She told him about a stupid crush she had in high school, a guy with a sports interest, a future, no interest in school,-"Not like I did either," she chuckled-and three years older to boot. "In short," she finished, "a banana's chance in monkey town. Don't look so concerned. I'm just worried about what happened to the guy. You can ask one more question."

"What was his name?" he asked, fully intent on having a talk with the idiot. Guys like that could lose a lot, "I'm the best example of the worst case scenario," he thought.

Their ice cream came and once Lorenzo wandered off she answered, "His name was Victor Stone," at this she gave a slight grin, "One man, a thousand nicknames." She took a major chunk out of the mound of ice cream that was the _dolci esplosione_. She turned back to him as his mouth was hanging open. "Better put your ice cream in that mouth of yours or a fly will wander in and you'll be eating _insetto esplosione_," she warned with a laugh. Her mischievous gray eyes once again dancing in their mysterious light.

It took her shoving a spoon full of ice cream into his mouth before he closed it. She took in his expression for a moment about to say some thing until his grin came back at the taste. The two of them enjoyed their ice cream at a hazardous rate, gulping it down far to quickly for it to be healthy. Laughing at the chocolate smeared across each others faces. The night once again became a mysteriously wonderful thing bathed in the glow of the moon.

A scream, however, alerted them that the world was not as at peace as they where that night.

* * *

Italian Translated: fimma uccello- flame bird; soura- sister; dolci esplosione- sweet explosion; insetto esplosione- insect explosion.

*I LOVE ICE CREAM... and it was the only foreseeable way to get those two on something like a date. Food is the key to a teenagers heart. Oh, the festival mentioned was modeled after the Steven Restivo Event in San Fransico. It's near the town's 'little Italy' section, but people not native to there would probably not know of it. At least I didn't know of it without the help of Google.*


	4. Chapter 4

**I am so sorry for not posting! One of my proof readers is lazy and the other is just plain scary! That and I have some major event during the summer every other day... I promise to post! No more excuses. I'm emptying out my box and focusing only on this by not allowing there to be anything else. Thank you everyone who has read this, took the time to review this or even did the honor of liking it. Now for what some may have been waiting for or others have just decided to read! Dun, DA-DA,DA!**

**Chapter 4**

Aria and Cyborg reached for their wallets at the same time. Lorenzo stopped them, "Save my machines, and the ice-cream's free," he threw out.

"Good deal, Lorenzo!" shouted Aria as she rushed into the fray. Cyborg stared for a few moments, dumb-founded as Aria's figure became less and less obvious in the crowd. "You'll get used to it, she's a good woman in a crisis. ," said Lorenzo while clapping him on the back, "Just make sure your not on the receiving end."

The Hive Five were wrecking havoc on the food stands at the moment. They kept terrorizing citizens by bursting forth out of different areas, Billy Numerous being the worst of them all. The multiplier was constantly swiping things from the stands and having anyone who tried to stop him be tackled by his others. Gizmo seemed to be waiting for something, or someone. Aria was calmly letting the crowd go by as she worked her way to a stand from which she could hide behind.

Cyborg struggled with the notion of letting a civilian (girl) in on the fight. Aria on the other hand had pulled out a pair of gloves and, yo-yos? After an experimental go, the yo-yos became electric on the come back to the glove. That mischievous look was back, but with more of a determined glint. She looked directly at Cyborg for a few seconds while hitting Kyd Wykkyd; she'd do just fine. Time to focus on Mammoth, who was tipping over that really good lemonade stand where he and Aria had separated from the main group.

Mammoth and Cyborg were at a war of strength, like two bulls in a pen. One bull was significantly smarter and had the idea to trip the other up. That's Mammoth down, now for the rest of the Hive Five to go. Most of the team had got them cornered but Billy Numerous was becoming a problem. Cramped spaces with a person who could clone themselves was a very bad idea.

Cyborg glanced around, Rae was dealing with Kyd Wykkyd. Star was trying to deal with Seemore with BB as back up. Rob was trying to tackle Jinx on his own, if it weren't for Giamo and Billy Numerous. There was no time to think about that. Target the people you know you can get then you can round up the rest later, even if the rest may be over 4000 in number at any given time.

"Hey, Pinkie Pie!" shouted Aria arrogantly with a jerk of her neck. Cyborg stood shocked for a moment as she flung a hand full of pixie stick sugar at the sorceress. Then went to make sure his non-hero friend didn't just sign a death warrant. Or at least make sure it wasn't carried out.

A few seconds earlier from a different point of view. 

"Why am I doing this anyway?" thought Jinx. "I didn't even really like him, I just needed a date for that dance. Then again, as a villainess, the rules dictate that any insult that is uttered it to be eliminated at the source. The fact I was just a type cast anyways, royally ticks me off!" Jinx cast a hex on an unfortunate pasta stand. While she did that she saw Mammoth go flying overhead, the only one who could do that was Cyborg or Beast Boy and she had distinctly seen a green blur go by her earlier. She smiled for the first time in a week, time to take out her anger on the cause of it.

"Hey, Pinkie Pie!"

A pixie stick's contents were thrown at Jinx's devil horns. What?! Jinx spun around at an alarming speed to see that copper headed bimbo that Cyborg was hanging out with earlier was holding an empty pixie stick. She didn't even bother to look at the eye offending filth longer than to throw a few hexes at it. Unfortunately as usual, some thing was in the way, something that could easily be described as a large tin can with legs. Just her luck.

Original point of view again.

Aria watched as _'Pinkie Pie's' _eye's lit up and then for some reason Cyborg's arm came into view. Aria ducked under it and to work with her yo-yo after dropping the pixie stick in the trash. Can't be a litterer after all, that's against the law. Heroing without a license was also probably against the law. Then again, there might not be a license for it in the first place. Whatever! Mischief in the name of the law was the same as stopping in the name of love. Oh that was bad, were the Titans rubbing off already?

Jinx was hit in the gut with- a yo-yo?! That hurt more than a children's toy should, it was like being tasered and hit with a crow bar at the same time. So this chick was a little better than she thought at first. Only a little, anyone who wore shorts that had a key ring with nothing but animal figurines on it couldn't be that bright. Time to one up it with this little- Cyborg interrupted her muttered curses with a right hook.

Aria glanced around as Pinkie Pie fell to the ground by Cyborg's right hook. She saw how much of a problem Billy Numerous was becoming and got a idea. She looked at Cyborg pityingly, he wouldn't understand until latter. Aria put her hands behind her back and walked right up to the multiplier. From behind him she popped in some blue eye contacts and gum. With her best dumb idiot look she tapped him on the shoulder while quickly chewing the gum.

"Hill Bill Dung-head right? You're going to have to pay for that," she said in her most bored shop girl act before popping the gum. Billy Numerous stared at the girl who got his name wrong, didn't fear him, and was unusually attractive for the type of girls he talked to.

"That ain't my name," he said after a few seconds getting multiplying until he surrounded her.

"Well your track record says otherwise, the Titans have beaten you so many times over you probably couldn't make enough clones to equal up. Now for example as well, you really need five clones to take down one civilian girl? Even if there was only one of you, I bet I could take you down easy," Aria said before blowing another bubble.

"Will you listen to this girl, Billy?"

"I can't believe this, Billy, lets take her down."

"No! I'll take her down and then no one can say that I never could beat up a girl!" Billy yelled. The other Billy's bodies went into the one and he turned to glare at the red head. She now had a smirk and a oversized yo-yo in her hand rapidly connected to his face. He fell over backwards and where he was Cyborg snapped into view. The mischievous look confirmed that his 'powerless' friend could hold her own.

"How many nicknames do you have in stock?" he asked, eyebrows raised as he tied up the multiplier with ability restricting rope.

"Plenty, having a dislike for someone means that you tend to think about different ways to insult them without getting arrested for arson or tee-peeing their home," she responded.

"I think that this is going by much faster than we thought," Cyborg teased while scanning the area.

"Well, if we don't hurry then none of us will enjoy the evening while it lasts," Aria responded with a smile.

"Invite your girlfriend for a change, snot for brains?" Gizmo sneered.

Aria took a quick look around at the stalls, ignoring the midget that hung in the air. She found what she was looking for under a gaudy yellow covering. While Gizmo infuriated Cyborg with taunts and zooming in and out of his range on jet pack. Aria collected a basket of her item and walked out with it under her arm. Gizmo began to fly off and Cyborg looked about to explode.

"Egg the Egghead?" Aria asked holding out her basket cheerfully. Cyborg smiled wickedly. This he was going to enjoy. Aria was starting to rub off on him.

"Hey, Gadget!" she shouted to the fleeing criminal.

It took Gizmo a few seconds to stop and turn around at the person who got his name wrong. He was immediately pelted by eggs by two delighted heroes who, at the moment, looked more like criminals. The egg-smeared villain was so angry, the eggs cooked themselves on his little bald head. The pair's grins were big enough to need more room than their faces could hold. Gizmo came down to yell at them in their faces which promptly got him hand-cuffed by one of Aria's adorable animal figurines that doubled as such.

By now the other Titans had succeed in securing Seemore and Kyd Wykkyd, but had yet to find something to tie them up with. Beast Boy sitting on them as a dinosaur would hold for now. Mammoth had gotten up though and was attempting to free Jinx at the moment. A certain glint in Aria's eye's told Cyborg to let her do her thing. She pulled off a lion miniature which would certainly have been adjusted for some purpose that was going to delight Cyborg any moment now.

Aria seemed a bit nervous of this one and carefully set it on the ground. Bits and pieces of the ground began to collect around the toy as it ran. Soon a lion made out of the earth about the size of a van was hurtling down the lane. It rammed into Mammoth knocking the powerhouse to the ground.

"Manny, meet modern golem. Golem, win," muttered Aria.

Cyborg turned to the red head. "Were you sure that was going to work?" he asked his shorter friend.

She folded her arms and leaned against him like he was a lamppost. "It had a three to one fail ratio," she admitted.

"You let it go even with those odds?" he asked startled. Those odds where something he wouldn't bet on when it came to fighting.

"I do things with much lower odds and it turns out fine," she said with a dismissive wave of the hand.

"Like getting the Titans out of the tower without there being a emergency, or you to stop fussing over the T-car," she said walking towards the rest of them. Leaving Cyborg behind yet again to be stupefied. She turned around and called out to him, "What are you waiting for? Come on we have to make sure Pie Eye and Mr. Sunshine are tied up before we can go swimming." He grinned and ran up to walk beside her.

They tied up the Hive Five and saw them carted away before it registered in Cyborg's head. She **had** brought her swimsuit! Then it was a slap in the face as he realized she had been wearing it the whole time as a tank top with shorts over the bottom and he hadn't noticed. Aria took off her gloves and retrieved her figurines that had imprisoned members of the Hive Five. She clipped on her lion figurine before going to the changing stall as Robin was explaining the situation to the cops.

She walked out a few moments latter and noticed Cyborg's staring. She looked at him in confusion for a few seconds then smirked. "Sorry to disappoint you, but my swimsuit isn't the most exposing. It's good for something called swimming though," she said laughing.

Cyborg determined he had to get her back for that last jab. He ran without slowing down as he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. She called down for him to put her down while laughing. Once he got to the dock, he lifted her over his head and threw her in the water. Once she had surfaced he cannon balled in next to her.

The others were surprised at how casual Cyborg was being. This wasn't something they saw all that often, most of the time people either talked their ears off or avoided them all together. They understood how they were friends and everything. It was just something else to hear something and then see it. Well everyone except Robin, he was too busy fixing his hair from the vacuum that Cyborg created while rushing past.

The Titans looked at each other and shrugged. Who were they to judge? Sure, the idea was planted at that point in Starfire's mind that they should be together. Sure, Beast Boy was think of endorsing the twosome with friendly teasing. Sure, Raven was thinking of different ways to leave them alone that would also include her being left alone. This wasn't passing judgement in the slightest. (This is sarcasm to those who are confused.)

Everyone messed around until the sun began to set and they went to the shore again to escape the cold water. Cyborg looked around for Aria and dived back into ocean to talk to her. The string of lanterns that originally dotted the shore where now cast out to sea. Aria lazily floated nearby them, knowing that if she wanted to, she could dive underneath it without a problem and drift out to sea. Cyborg approached her with long strokes.

"So how long of were you planning on staying out her and avoiding everyone?" he asked. Aria maneuvered herself to face him with a sigh. "Long enough to forget about me I was hoping," she said. "Come on, I'll drop the others off and then take you back to your hotel," Cyborg insisted pleadingly.

"Won't that be inconveniencing you though?" she asked in the hopes that he would drop the subject. The idea of him finding out about her sleeping accommodations being not right was something she didn't want to happen. After all, she **was** staying **at** the hotel, just not **in** the hotel.

"You're my friend, it's no inconvenience," he said.

Too soon they were alone in the T-car together. The others had gone to bed dog gone tired. The thought of him finding out that she wasn't sleeping in a bed paralyzed her brain and she couldn't make conversation. The ride was in silence the whole way through the underwater tunnel. Once they were out however the radio was turned on. By the end of Thrift Shop they were finally talking.

Once they got to the hotel that she was staying at Aria jumped out. "Thanks for the ride Cy!" she said before turning around in the mimic of going in. She heard a car door open and shut. Aria spun around to face Cyborg getting out of the car and panicked. "Cy you can't come in!"

"Huh, why not?" Cyborg was being slightly clueless.

"Hello, this is a girl's room, my room to be exact. You can't come in," Aria said with a lot of gesturing.

"Oh," Cyborg's eyes widened as he realized what it looked like, "I'll just walk you to the desk then," he said.

"That is not needed I can take care of myself with bellhops thank you," Aria said shortly.

"Why are you making such a big deal about this?"

"Cy, think about it this way. You- a hero of the city, are arguing with me- a young girl, at a certain establishment. Robin would kill you regardless of if the press caught wind of it," she attempted to reason with him.

"Alright then, think about it this way. I- a hero of the city, am trying to escort a you- a young girl, home after you were at a place that was attacked by the Hive Five. You are obviously not well at the moment, obvious from the gesturing you are doing, and doing my job, wanted to make sure you made it home safely," Cyborg finished.

By the time Aria was able to reply he had walked her inside the building. Aria saw the receptionist that had told her in no uncertain terms that she shouldn't come back in under any circumstances. Cyborg half walked, half marched Aria up to the receptionist's desk. The receptionist glanced up.

"You again? Look, I've already told you, you book the room for a certain amount of time. Weather this fits into your time tables is another story. It's your own fault that you booked it a week too early. Someone already has the room, now, get out or I'm calling security." The receptionist had a finger hovering over a black button as a warning.

Things were frosty between the two of them as they walked out of the building. Aria rubbed her arms in the cold wind. Cyborg walked stiffly. They walked in silence back to the T-car that currently was disguised as a common white van. He opened the door for Aria to get in. Once she was inside he got in but didn't turn on the car.

"You were going to talk about this detail when?" he asked, not looking at her yet.

"Never was the option I was going for. Now you see why I wasn't so eager to swim," she joked, and was meet by Cyborg giving her a 'look' with his arms crossed. Aria sighed, "Ok, I found out the first day after we all had pizza. I didn't tell you about it after that because... I hate being a charity case, or being some sort of beggar. I really didn't want you guys to think that I was some sort of con artist after you're stuff or anything. I know this is a really bad time to say this but I wanted you to trust me. After all we never meet in person and... I... didn't... think about... asking for something... when we've only just meet... in person," she finished.

"First of all, there is no way that you, the one who beat me to their wallet, would ever be a charity case. Second of all, it's ok to ask for some help if things are tight. Third of all, we all trust you. Ok maybe Rob didn't fully trust you, but he's Rob and that's in the past. Fourth of all, you kick butt, but you need to trust us a little more to trust you. Give some credit to us, ok? If it had crossed his mind, I'm sure Rob would have even invited you to be apart of the Titans. Lastly, why are you even going around the country? Did you get a fight with your parents? Cuz' that's cool too. I know I probably won't speak to my dad again on my own," Cyborg took a deep breath.

"If only I had parents to fight with," muttered Aria sadly out the window.

"What?" Cyborg asked, his head jerking to look at her.

"They died in a car accident a year, two months, one week and three days ago. My aunt and uncle kicked me out and swindled me out of my inheritance. I've been living off my inventions every since. The two of them would take my money out of my account and claim my patents if they could. To sum it up, my paranoia rating is up their with Robin's. Now that you know, can you understand why I didn't want to seem too dependent or needy?" She looked back at Cyborg.

"Yeah, but one of these days, you are gonna have to let me buy the ice-cream. Just one last question," Cyborg said before starting the car.

"Yes?" Aria said squirming, ready for any humiliating thing for him to ask. Swallowing her pride just this once.

"Where's you're stuff, and how do you know it's not been stolen?" he said.

"Drive around the block, it's on top of the roof of the hotel." She caught his look, "Hey, no one would look up there."

"No one would want to go up there in the first place," he said dubiously.

Cyborg parked the car for a few more minutes on the other side of the building. Aria scaled the building quickly, leaving Cyborg to wonder where she learned the skill. Three bags landed down in the alleyway upright. Aria soon followed, only jumping after there was only three feet left of the ways however. Cyborg opened the trunk and help Aria with the bags.

Aria stopped suddenly then she turned to Cyborg and hit him, hard. "What was that for?" he asked looking at her angrily. "That's for earlier today, when you took the hit for me with Jinx. All gentlemanly behavior is suspended when in a fight, got it?" she scolded. Cyborg remembered that, it only needed a little repair work wait, when in a fight? "Do you get in fights often?" he asked.

"I'm just saying for future reference. If you trust me, then trust me to kick someone else's butt without getting in the way so I won't have to kick yours," she said with a jut of her chin.

Cyborg thrust his hands in the air before getting in the car, not before opening a door for Aria however. Aria looked a lot more relaxed now that this was off her chest. "Now I'm sorry for hitting you. I should have done it when it was needed," Aria said. Cyborg gave her a dumbfounded look. She looked back at him then relented, "I'll go ahead and make breakfast tomorrow, that sound ok? I make food that you can eat in exchange for crashing at your place until Sunday."

"Breakfast consists of what exactly?" Cyborg's experience with girls cooking was never good as it was based off Starfire and Raven's nearly killing them all many times over.

"Toast, egg, bacon, Orange juice, maybe waffles or pancakes and that tofu stuff Beast Boy obsess over," she described.

"Why the tofu?" moaned Cyborg.

"You don't have to eat healthy but let him," she said, "Oh, and your blue mold story rates high in the horror department so we buy the food now."

"So long as you make waffles," Cyborg sulked in a voice that needed deciphering since his lips were pushed out like a fish.

"Your right it was a dumb question," laughed Aria as she directed him to the flea market. Her smile had returned in full Cyborg was pleased to notice.

They talked throughout the ride back and the elevator ride up. Between them they had a few bags of good but cheep food from the flea market. They were still talking when they ran into the rest of the Teen Titans who Cyborg said would be "asleep". "This is going to be a long night," Aria thought to herself with a sigh. The Titans began their interrogation, starting with Cyborg on a segment of the news showing him and Aria at the flea market.

* * *

After writer's block you now have an enormous chapter to read and enjoy. Thank you and good night. Also I am not trying to be mean to Jinx, I love Jinx, she is my favorite villain. It's just too easy to make her mad. Please review so I know I am doing this right!


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